The University's response to recent state budget cuts include a surcharge in tuition, the shutdown of the Lake Havasu campus and a reconsideration of support for statewide scholarships in 2025.
The University will add an extra payment to tuition in the Spring 2025 semester, charging approximately $350 to full-time students and a "proportional" amount for part-time students, according to ASU News. For the past eight years, the University has been able to keep its tuition increase under the inflation rate.
This comes after a reduction in the state budget by the Arizona State Legislature for the 2025 fiscal year, cutting nearly $11 million from University funding. ASU faced the largest cut out of the three Arizona public universities, with NAU being reduced by nearly $4 million and UA by nearly $8 million, according to the Arizona Legislature's general appropriations act.
This year, state funds make up approximately 8% of the University's total funding. When taking into account other cuts to statewide programs, the estimated total impact to the University is around $24 million, according to ASU News.
The Arizona Teachers Academy will be unable to serve approximately 800 new students due to the state's reduction in funding. The academy has seen a large amount of growth since 2018, which is attributed to the program's grant, titled the Arizona Teachers Academy Award. The grant covers "tuition and program fees for students who complete an initial teacher certification program and fulfill a commitment to teach in an Arizona public school after graduation," according to the Arizona Teacher Academy.
Another statewide program that aims to help students with tuition coverage is the Arizona Promise Scholarship Program. It provides a way for eligible in-state residents with a Pell Grant to receive full tuition and fee coverage at Arizona public universities, according to the Arizona Promise Program. There will be an expected decrease in the University's allocation toward the program, affecting more than 2,600 Arizona resident students, according to ASU News.
The University will also cut off funding and close all operations for ASU at Lake Havasu in the summer of 2025. The shutdown of the center will affect 225 students and 20 employees, according to ASU News.
"We have to consider our options to advance the University in a financially sound way," said ASU President Michael Crow to ASU News. "For whatever reason, state leaders want the public universities to be tuition-driven, independently funded and to advance on their own."
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Edited by River Graziano, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporters at sjames51@asu.edu and gheadle@asu.edu and follow @sennajames_ and @George_Headley7 on X.
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Senna is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in Spanish. This is her third semester with The State Press.
George is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked at Times Media Group.
